Chapter 299: Hakone Ramblings

PS: This update is yesterday's second update. Sorry about that! Tenshi is getting old; two updates totaling 7,000 characters a day is already my limit!

After ending their journey at the Ultra Seven Curry Shop, the three of them—Uesugi Muneyuki and the others—officially began their trip to Hakone.

"As expected, the taste is very mediocre," Miss Minami complained. "I don't think I'll be coming back a second time."

"Who comes to this shop for the curry rice? Isn't everyone here for Seven?" Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head and laughed. "Well, just consider it a little indulgence of mine. Look, Eirina is very happy too, isn't she?"

"Mm," Eirina, who was driving in front, responded softly.

"Heh, no need to ask her. Everyone knows her brain is already completely filled with you; whatever you say, she'll agree to." Miss Minami pouted and pinched Uesugi Muneyuki's cheek. "Alright, you've had your indulgence, now it's my turn!"

"Fine, I'll listen to everything you say, my lady," Uesugi Muneyuki laughed.

Not far away, the Enoshima Electric Railway drove past Yuihama. The sea surface outside the train windows shimmered with lead-gray light. Seagulls swept over faded surfboard advertisements on utility poles. The scent of perfume from Miss Minami and Eirina floated in the air, mixed with the damp, salty sea breeze.

It was somewhat silent inside the car. Eirina drove into the Hakone mountains. Mountain mist wove a milky-white veil at the foot of Hayakawa Mountain. The Lexus traveled through the maple forest, and wherever the wheels rolled, the fierce wind from the driving stirred up a few falling red leaves.

They had arrived in Hakone.

This was a tranquil land. In late autumn, the mountains of Hakone were dyed in fiery red. The peaceful walking paths were covered in withered branches and fallen leaves. Tourists walked slowly along the shopping street. The shops and restaurants along the street seemed to take one back to the nineties; the low buildings reflected the faint afternoon light amidst the serene mountains and sea, though most of the sky remained shrouded in overcast clouds.

This place seemed to make one's heart much quieter, and Uesugi Muneyuki stopped talking, focusing on enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Japan is a major tourism country; one could even say tourism is a pillar industry for its citizens, with the tourism sector accounting for over 7% of GDP. Uesugi Muneyuki had always been too busy with official duties to pay attention to other things, but this emergency vacation made him feel that he had ignored many of the beauties of life around him in his daily routine.

Perhaps he could travel around more in the future... Uesugi Muneyuki thought to himself. He could bring Minami, Eirina, and Asuka along, or perhaps call Senior Mai and Sister Mikoto, but that would seem like throwing a party...

Regardless, he truly allowed himself to relax, taking in the cool air and the scenery passing through the mountains and forests.

Enjoy this moment.

The first stop of the three-person trip was the POLA Museum of Art, a destination designated by Miss Minami. This place was a box built of glass and concrete, lying quietly in the forests of Hakone. The museum was designed by the architect Yasuda, who focuses on the fusion of humanistic and natural landscapes. Entering the museum, the massive floor-to-ceiling glass curtain walls on both sides allowed the surrounding forest scenery to be seen clearly from the inside out, as if one were standing in an art gallery within the forest.

Light spilled onto the museum floor, presenting a warm artistic atmosphere. It displayed paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, and others, ranging from classical oil paintings to Impressionism and even super-modernism.

Unfortunately, Uesugi Muneyuki didn't understand art very well. Like Eirina, he just said "it's good" all the way through, even though he didn't know what was good about it.

Miss Minami was very tolerant of these two people who lacked artistic cells. Wearing canvas shoes, she very quietly led the two of them around the museum. The three of them walked a short distance on the mountain path outside the museum before heading to the next location.

Owakudani.

"Go on, Muneyuki, you're in charge of buying the tickets!" Miss Minami giggled and gave Uesugi Muneyuki a push from behind. "Buy for three people, adults, one private cable car!"

Uesugi Muneyuki rolled his eyes. "Today is my vacation. Can't you let me rest?"

"Fine, fine, fine~ You're the big boss."

Miss Minami covered her mouth and laughed, then obediently took the money to buy the tickets herself.

Eirina felt very surprised. She took small steps to Uesugi Muneyuki's side and whispered, "Why is the Section Chief so easy to talk to today?"

"Because I'm a famous person," Uesugi Muneyuki replied briefly. "You are too."

Ikeda Erena raised an eyebrow, then blinked. "No, I feel like that's not it. Although I don't know why it's not, I don't think it's because of that."

"Then it's probably because she's a little nervous," Uesugi Muneyuki laughed playfully. "Why is she nervous? That's hard to guess."

Upon hearing this, Ikeda Erena's face flushed red. Instinctively, she stuck out her tongue, not daring to answer, and could only lower her head and stand silently by Uesugi Muneyuki's side.

"You have to help me!" Miss Minami's words still echoed in her ears, and at the same time, she recalled the Asukayama Contract.

Eirina knew she was very greedy; she wanted both her career and the man, and didn't want to give up either, so this was the best situation for now. It was just that when it really reached this point, she felt inexplicably strange.

Every step was her own choice, and every step was the best result at the time, but why did it turn out like this?

How did she end up muddle-headedly tricked by the Section Chief into Uesugi's bed? How did she end up muddle-headedly and seriously demanding that Uesugi date her without marriage as a prerequisite? How did her brain short-circuit, agreeing to the Asukayama Contract, and finally ending up with the three of them together?

Mmm~ Eirina felt aggrieved.

She bit her lip slightly, extended her black-silk-clad beautiful foot in a leather boot, and kicked Uesugi Muneyuki's pant leg lightly. "Uesugi, you... you're not allowed to abandon me just because you have the Section Chief!"

Huh?!

Uesugi Muneyuki was completely baffled by Eirina. What was this about?

Oh, she probably misunderstood something.

My dear, tall, high-flying, long-legged beauty master, this misunderstanding really came at the perfect time.

He liked this kind of misunderstanding.

"That depends on your performance," Uesugi Muneyuki smirked. "What you promised me last time?"

"Mm," Eirina bit her lip and nodded slightly.

"Tickets are bought~" Miss Minami returned after buying the tickets. She looked curiously at the two people whispering to each other but didn't say anything. "Let's go! Hell's Gate!"

It was afternoon, and there weren't many people on the cable car. The three of them sat together, enjoying the scenery of Owakudani.

Crossing the first mountain peak, the scent of sulfur drifted over from below. White Smoke surged from the surface of the valley, reaching the sky. The steam erupted from the volcanic activity of this highest sacred mountain in Hakone, which had been active for 3,000 years, blocking out the sun and sky, looking just like Hell's Gate.

And in the direction behind them, the distant Fuji TV was shrouded in clouds and mist, like a shy young girl. Her upper body was covered in gloomy clouds, and only a circle of white snow could be seen at the bottom.

Beside him, Miss Minami was watching the Hell's Gate below and the distant Fuji TV with rapt attention, while Ikeda Erena next to her was trying hard to cover her breathing. On her fair, beautiful face, the blush on her cheeks appeared and disappeared, and she bit her silver teeth tightly, as if enduring something.

Uesugi, do you like silk stockings that much?

Ever since they got on the cable car, his hand hadn't left her silk-clad thigh.

An irrepressible excitement surged through her entire body. The tall beauty felt her Soul singing aloud.

She already felt particularly sensitive wearing silk stockings beside him, and thinking about what would happen tonight, Eirina felt her whole body go soft.

Just as she was thinking about acting spoiled and waiting until tonight, she suddenly heard Miss Minami's breathing also become heavy. The two women looked at each other in astonishment and immediately understood something.

So you too...

Hmph, then I won't pretend to be a lady anymore!

Ikeda Erena went straight to the core, leaned on Uesugi Muneyuki's shoulder, and wrapped her arms around his neck...

This time it was Minami's turn to snort. She simply collapsed into Uesugi Muneyuki's arms and acted spoiled.

Just like that, on the Owakudani cable car, with the thick smoke below and the smell of sulfur in the air, Uesugi Muneyuki embraced them both, enjoying the infinite scenery at the dangerous peak.

However, the cable car ride was very short. After about ten minutes, the three of them arrived directly below Owakudani. In the spectacular valley, White Smoke and the intense smell of sulfur constantly surged from the layers of crevices. Miss Minami bought a large bag of black hot spring eggs. Peeling off the black shells, the egg whites inside were white and tender, and the runny egg yolk inside was sweet and delicious.

"They say eating one of these black hot spring eggs can extend your life by 7 years. If I eat three, I can extend my life by 21 years~" the young lady feigned cleverness, eating the egg in small bites. She even stuffed a piece of the egg she had bitten into Uesugi Muneyuki's mouth. "Here, I'll share half of my lifespan with you!"

Seeing this, Eirina refused to be outdone; she haphazardly peeled an onsen egg and took a fierce bite, ignoring the heat, and shoved it toward Uesugi Muneyuki's mouth as well: "I... I'll share with you too!"

"Hahahaha~" Uesugi Muneyuki's mouth was stuffed full of onsen egg, thinking to himself, how is this you sharing with me?

When the time comes, it is highly likely that I will be the one sharing with you all!

……………………

In one day, they visited the Ultra Seven curry shop, the POLA Museum of Art, and the Hell's Gate of Owakudani; the hotel they stayed at that night was "Hakone Ginyu," one of the most high-end hot spring inns in Hakone, with only 15 rooms in the entire establishment, and the cost for a two-night, three-day stay was 300,000 yen, which already exceeded Ikeda Erena's monthly salary, and that was even with the Superintendent General's discount.

The inn was booked by Miss Minami, which made Uesugi Muneyuki think she really was a spendthrift woman.

However, when he stepped into the room under the guidance of the inn's proprietress, his previous opinions vanished in an instant.

The suite was a classic Japanese-style setting; the twenty-mat spacious room was bright and transparent, with triple-layered handmade twisted washi paper lanterns hanging from the high ceiling, and between the lamp shadows, the unique "tame-nuri" blue-gray luster of the Odawara Lacquerware flickered incessantly.

The tatami mats were made from rush grass produced in the Izu Seven Islands, with the edges inlaid with Wajima-nuri gold pear-skin lacquer flowing water patterns, and on the low table sat a Bizen Ware "Ghost Hagi" kiln-transmutation vase, with a few sprigs of Sengokuhara silver grass and red maple leaves inserted at an angle.

Pushing open the shoji door, a cypress terrace extended to the edge of the cliff—a boat-shaped bathtub carved from a single piece of Yoshino Cypress hung in mid-air, the spring water drawn directly from a century-old secret hot spring of milky sulfur, the edge of the tub wrapped in a layer of fired coarse pottery, the nearby moss marks and spring stains mottled and bright, like an ancient scroll by a green lamp, the thick atmosphere of history slowly unfolding before Uesugi Muneyuki.

Looking further into the distance, the mountains were covered in layers of red leaves, several vermilion torii-shaped pleasure boats floated on Lake Ashi, the reflection on the lake surface was crushed by ripples into fine gold leaf, the first snow had already arrived on Mount Fuji on the opposite shore, and the mountain body was gradually dyed indigo in the twilight, just like an ancient ukiyo-e scroll.

The stream carried the lingering shadows of maple leaves toward an unknown depth, the crisp sound of deer herds stepping on withered branches occasionally drifted through the mountain forest, and the wind chimes on the eaves of the hot spring inn trembled lightly, sealing the last trace of warmth of late autumn into the swirling steam before him.

"Pfft~" Right behind him, Miss Minami held Ikeda Erena's hand and chided: "Still looking at the scenery, Muneyuki-kun, haven't you seen enough after the whole day today?"

"Snap out of it, the time to choose has come, your next choice will determine whose route you enter!" The Face of the Metropolitan Police Department's face was dyed with red clouds just like the red leaves outside the window: "Hurry up and decide."

"Is it to soak in the hot spring first, eat first, or first..."

(End of this chapter)